Devices for isolating articles are used in the cigarette industry for example, in order to isolate cigarettes or filter-ends from a quantity of cigarettes or a quantity of filter-ends so that they can be further processed individually or, in particular, be used individually as test specimens for subsequent measuring processes. Known devices, such as are illustrated in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 for example, comprise rotatable drums 1 at the outlet of containers 2 which can be downwardly tapering containers (c.f. FIG. 1) or magazines in the form of shaft-like cassettes in which the articles lie one above the other (c.f. FIG. 2). The drums comprise slots 3 into which the individual cigarettes 4 fall and are carried along when the drum 2 rotates so that they are available individually for further use. The disadvantage of this so-called drum isolating process is that articles, cigarettes for example, of different dimensions or diameters cannot be isolated with these devices. This means that even in the case of a small deviation of the dimension of the articles, for example for a small change in the diameter of the cigarettes, the drum must then be exchanged, this thereby leading to increased complexity in the provision of components for the device and longer periods of inactivity.
A further known device for isolating articles is illustrated schematically in FIG. 3. Two pawls 5, 6 are arranged one above the other at a distance which corresponds to the dimension of the articles that are to be isolated, for example the diameter of the cigarettes 4 that are to be isolated and they are adapted to be inserted laterally into a shaft-like cassette in which the articles that are to be isolated are located one above the other. Before the lower pawl 6 is moved out of the shaft 7 so as to release the lowest article, the upper pawl 5 is moved into the shaft 7 in order to hold back those cigarettes 4 that are located thereabove in the shaft. In like manner to the drum isolating process, this so-called pawl isolating process also has the disadvantage that only articles having small tolerances in the diameter thereof can be isolated therewith since the distance between the two pawls 5, 6 that are arranged one above the other must correspond to the dimensions of the articles, for example, to the diameter of the cigarettes that are to be isolated. A further disadvantage of the pawl isolating process is that there is a danger of damaging the articles when moving the upper pawl 5 into the shaft 7.
A vending machine is known from the publication EP-A-0 343 505 which comprises a pivotal flap arranged at the outlet of a container for releasing an isolated article and also a further flap which is arranged in the container above the flap for the releasing process, whereby the flap for holding back the articles is biased towards the interior of the container by means of a spring. Hereby, the two flaps are each operable independently of the other.
An automatic output unit for vending machines is known from the publication U.S. Pat. No. 5,628,428, wherein a pivotal base-plate is arranged at the outlet of a compartment in which articles that are to be sold are stacked. For the purposes of releasing an article, the flap is folded downwardly whereby a retention element is simultaneously pressed laterally against the penultimate article in the stack in order to prevent the release of further articles. Hereby, the retention element presses hard against the article so that it could be deformed or damaged especially if the article is resilient and susceptible to damage.
Consequently, the object of the invention is to provide a device for isolating cigarettes or cigarette filters with the aid of which it is even possible to carefully isolate cigarettes that are of different dimensions or diameters and which are resilient or damageable at small constructional and equipmental expense.